Alito: What Will Happen, What Should Happen, and Why It Won't

The real deal on Judge Samuel Alito's nomination to the Supreme Court.

Alito Will Be Confirmed

While it saddens me to say this, Judge Samuel Alito will be confirmed as the replacement for Sandra Day O'Connor on the United States Supreme Court. This will assure that we have a Conservative, Right Wing Court, in power for the rest of my life. I stated during the 2000 election that the single most important reason for not voting for George W. Boosh was to deny him the opportunity to stack the Court with Right Leaning justices. It is why I was angered with all of the people that assured Boosh of a close election, thus allowing him to be appointed, by voting for Ralph Nader. In doing so, they essentially voted for Boosh. Don't get me wrong, Nader lovers, I am a firm believer that a third party is necessary if this country is to survive in any recognizable form. But the year 2000 was the wrong year to gamble, the wrong year to make a statement. The stakes were simply too high.

At the time of the election, it was clear to anyone who pays attention to the Supreme Court, that the next President, whoever that happened to be, was going to get at a minimum one, and more likely two opportunities to mold the court. Chief Justice Rhenquist was getting old and was in failing health, and Sandra Day O'Connor was also likely to retire due to health issues. I actually believed that O'Connor would be the first to go. With a Republican majority in power across the board, if a Republican were elected, the Court was certainly going to lean heavily to the Right. Now this is what we have, and for those that believe in individual freedoms, minimizing the power of corporations and general common sense issues, the future is not bright.

What The Democrats Should Do

Again, it saddens me to say, the Democrats in power will not respond to this nomination in a proper fashion. The Democrats have proven themselves to be a spineless lot. With the exception of the "closed door session" that they forced last week, they have done nothing to show me or anyone else that they are willing to do what is necessary to guarantee a future, any future, for this country.

Although the outcome of Alito's confirmation is a certainty, the Democrats should filibuster this nomination and FORCE the Republican's to use their so-called "Nuclear Option." And, the Republican's would do just that. What would a filibuster accomplish? Assure a Democratic majority for the forseeable future, hopefully for another 40 years. And, assure that a Democrat would sit in the Oval Office for the forseeable future. As a bonus, they would expose the Republicans as the arrogant, corrupt, morally bankrupt party that we know them to be. Boosh has lost the middle, his poll numbers spell this out. The independents and moderates, the people that really decide the elections in this country, give Boosh a 65% Disapproval Rating as we speak. For the Republicans to invoke the "nuclear option," in essence changing the rules in the middle of the game, would push the centrists in this country over the edge and straight to the Democratic ticket, all across the nation. An uproar would be created among the very people that each party HAS TO HAVE to win any elections, the fence sitters. They would view this as dirty politics and force the Republicans to pay the price for their actions for many years to come.

Why What Should Happen Won't Happen

The centrist Democrats, who are not really Democrats but have to call themselves something, will prevent a filibuster. They can pull the strings and change the votes of enough Democrats, who have yet to see them for what they really are, to prevent a filibuster from happening. What are these people, really? They are fence sitters as well, generally younger Senators and Congressmen who want to lock in their futures as politicians. They have no capacity for original thought, no goal other than to assure themselves of succeeding as career politicians. Their number one priority is to make certain that they don't piss anyone off. Sure, their dreams might be different. Some may be positioning themselves for a future White House run, ala Evan Byah, others are content to remain Senators or Congressmen forever, in the mold of Strom Thurmon, yet others are merely sheep jumping on the bandwagon of their aforementioned up-and-coming brethren. They are the most dangerous types of people in power, those that are elected to lead but are in reality followers. People like this are how we got to where we find ourselves today.

The Democrats have an opportunity to make a statement, force the hand of the Republicans, and cement a Democrat-in-power future for many years to come. Unfortunately, they will return to their passive ways, and they will blow it.